Code Retribution
by Izlawake
Summary: An alternative to Evolution. A new student arrives and joins the Lyoko Warriors. He will be there as the final battle with XANA draws close at hand. An epic adventure with the Lyoko gang begins!
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: I do not own Code Lyoko or Half-Life; only the character Shawn Davidson and the MELM shirt.)**

Chapter 1

A car was driving through France on a sunny day in March. Its occupants consisted of a sixteen year-old teenage boy and his father heading for Kadic Academy. The boy seemed depressed about a matter as he stared blankly out the passenger window listening to his ipod. His father looked at him for a moment; he knows what was troubling his son.

"Shawn, I know you're unhappy about living here, and I'm sorry I've done this to you. You have to understand; the company made me transfer between countries."

"Yeah, and the company moved from America, to Italy, and now to France. I was happy in Italy; I went to a great school, and I found others who enjoy the same sport I like, and then we had to move all the way to France. Now I have to attend some pristine school for the next few years." Shawn scoffed.

Shawn's father sighed. "It was wrong of me to take you away from Miami when you were eight, and it was wrong of me to do it again. I couldn't just quit my job and find another one; it's not that easy."

They pulled in front of the Kadic school grounds. "Look, you're a smart kid; you've proven that in your skills. Also, there are many sports teams here, you may get recognized. Trust me, things will get better in time." He smiled as he pulled Shawn in for a hug. Shawn hugged him back before he gathered up his luggage.

"I'll miss you dad." Shawn slung his computer bag, a messenger bag, and a duffel bag over his body and pulled two wheeled luggage bags behind him. He waved his father goodbye as he drove away.

Brushing his dark brown hair out of his eye, Shawn took in the view of Kadic Junior High. He walked on toward the main building where he was confronted by a big man in sweats.

"So, you must the new kid, uh, Shawn Davidson?" he asked. Shawn nodded. "Good, I'm Jim, the gym teacher here at Kadic, and I'll be showing you to your dorm room." Jim lead Shawn to dorm building while giving him a hand with his bags.

"So you know, you'll be sharing with another boy here as we're getting short stocked in rooms lately." Jim told him. "By the way, that's a nice leather jacket there, you trying to be cool or something?"

"No, it's just comfortable, that's all."

"Well, I remember owning one a long time ago, when I would cruise down the road on my motorcycle with some old buddies from the Air Force. It was good times I tell ya'"

"Wow, you were in the Air Force? What was it like?"

"It was a thrilling time full of excitement and had a sense of freedom; but I'd rather not talk about it. Ah, here we are, you'll be holed up with one of Kadic's finest minds: Jeremy Belpois." Jim opened the door and Jeremy looked from his computer, surprised by the sudden appearance.

"Jim, what's going on here?" he asked.

"Jeremy, meet Shawn Davidson. He's your new roommate." Jim noticed his face. "Ah come on, Belpois. Why else would we move another bed and cupboard in here? You know new students are coming in like herding cattle." With that, Jim left, leaving the two boys alone.

"Hi, I'm Shawn Davidson." He said, extending his hand outward.

"I'm Jeremy Belpois." He said back, grabbing his hand. "So, where you from?"

"I'm from America originally, but I moved to Italy when I was eight and now here. Jim told me you're one of Kadic's brightest."

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah. You seem nice at all, but I have some important business to do right now, so if you'll excuse me—"And with that, Jeremy turned back to his computer. Shawn set his belongings on the bed and starts unpacking his clothes in the cabinet.

Jeremy watched Shawn from the corner of his eye, noting the stuff he had. He saw he owned many different clothing styles, a couple pairs of shoes, a wall plaque with a coat of arms, and a few other things.

"What's that plaque there?" he asked, pointing towards it.

"That's my family's coat of arms from my ancestors who hailed from Scotland long ago." Shawn said. "We were great, hearty people then, and some of us still are. My dad says I inherited my smarts and skills from my grandfather."

Jeremy went back to his computer while Shawn finished unpacking. After about ten minutes, Jeremy was briefly distracted when Shawn started playing some classic rock music from his laptop. Shawn, seeing Jeremy's annoyed look, turned the volume down and apologized before he started setting up his network and account data.

A little later, Jeremy was busy programming some features for the Skidbladnir when Shawn poked his head in. "What is all this, some kind of video game?" he asked.

"Yes it is," Jeremy lied. "I'm programming a part of it right now. Some of the other guys and I have been working on it for a while. Right now, I'm programming a vehicle to use in water environments." Jeremy prayed Shawn will buy his story, and he did. He shrugged it off and went back to his laptop.

"So, what's the schedule for today?" he questioned.

"It's Saturday, so right now, its lunch time until two-thirty, where we have chemistry with Ms. Hertz in the science building." Jeremy answered.

Shawn thanked him for the information before rushing for the cafeteria. When the door closed behind him, Jeremy let out sigh of relief. _He's going to be an annoyance to me. _He thought.

Over at the cafeteria, Shawn had gotten a tray of food and was walking past the tables when he heard something.

"You think Jeremy is working too hard?" said a girl's voice.

"Yeah, Einstein needs to get out more. If he stays in his room any longer, he'll forget what the sun looks like." Said a boy in purple clothes.

Shawn sat down at the table. "You know Jeremy Belpois?" The kids there just stared at him.

"Who are you?" asked a pink-haired girl.

Shawn introduced himself, and the others did the same. Shawn seemed the most interested in Aelita Stones. He felt some kind of aura around her. Shawn chatted with the group while eating his meal, which he had a lot of though it was not close to Odd's tray. He got to know them a little and they the same.

"Hey Shawn," said Aelita. "Can you go tell Jeremy to come here? He needs to get away from his computer for a while, but tell him it's important."

"No problem Aelita." He said as he left to find Jeremy.

"Aelita," Odd said, with food in his mouth. "I can tell that Shawn likes you. You just met, but I can tell. I've seen it with other people before." He then stared at Ulrich, who responded by kicking him from under the table.

Back at his room, Shawn had told Jeremy the message. His only answer was a sigh as he left for the cafeteria. Shawn, after looking at his watch, saw he had about forty minutes till chemistry, went to his cabinet. Inside, he pulled out a blue and white athletic sleeveless shirt, some grey sweatpants, a pair of parkour grip gloves, and running shoes. He also loaded his messenger bag with his class supplies, a water bottle, and his ipod. After changing his clothes and strapping his bag to his back, Shawn ran out the door towards the school grounds.

At class, Jeremy, Odd, and Ulrich sat between each other, chatting about the new kid. Odd thought he was a cool guy, but Jeremy kept commenting on his somewhat annoying behavior.

"Speaking of which," Ulrich said. "Where is Shawn? Class is gonna start in three minutes, what can he be doing on his first day?"

They did not have time to question Shawn's absence when Ms. Hertz walked through the door and began attendance. Everyone was accounted for until she got to Shawn's name. "Shawn Davidson? Shawn Davidson? Where is he?" she asked.

Everyone stayed silent, unsure of the whereabouts of the new student. Ms. Hertz dismissed him, thinking he will show up soon and began the lesson, discussing about the effects of liquid nitrogen. In about ten minutes, everyone started hearing noises in the hallway, consisting of doors slamming, the sound of shoes hitting the floor, and a few unrecognizable sounds.

Then, Shawn burst through the class door, drenched in sweat and out of breath. Everyone just stared at him as he grabbed his water bottle and squeezed the last of it into his mouth. "Sorry I'm late Ms. Hertz," Shawn gasped. "But I lost track of time out in the city while I was running."

Ms. Hertz opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and just motioned to him to take a seat ad continued the lesson. Shawn sat next to Jeremy, who did not particularly like the smell of sweat emanating from him.

"Where were you?" he whispered, holding his hand to his nose.

"I was running, that's all," He whispered back. "I think I pulled a muscle in my leg though. I haven't done this in a while."

Jeremy scoffed at him and turned his attention back to the teacher. When class ended, the boys met outside by their park bench to plan the rest of their day.

"Guess what?" said a very ecstatic Odd. "I have a date tonight with Natasha Rosenthal, and I'm gonna take her to the movies." Clearly Odd was stoked for tonight.

"No way, that Russian girl in the tenth grade?" questioned William. "I couldn't get a date with her. Nice job man." The two of them fist bumped.

"I need to look for more information about Tyron, as well as do a check on your Lyoko form programs," Jeremy said. "I've been trying to make some improvements to your performances on Lyoko, maybe make you guys stronger. It'll just be another sleepless night."

"I think I'll just sit in my room and relax for the night. Too much has been happening with Lyoko and XANA and it's just a pain." Ulrich said, letting out a sigh.

They continued to chat for a while when Yumi and Aelita joined them. They talked a little about their day until Jeremy brought up the subject of Shawn.

"He's just strange to me," he said. "He bugs me a little; he came to class drenched in sweat, while wearing some exercise get-up, and claims he was only running in the remaining time before class. Not only that, he also poked his head in on my computer, but I managed to convince him the Skidbladnir was for a video game. I feel like he's going to get in our way."

At that moment, Shawn showed up, this time showered and dressed in new clothes consisting of blue jeans, a blue "MELM" t-shirt, a grey zipper hoodie, and black sneakers. "What's up guys?" he asked.

William introduced himself, and learned about his background a little before everyone, except for Yumi who headed home, left for dinner. Like every other time, Odd took enough food to feed a den of wolves, Shawn took a normal size portion, and everyone else cracked a joke of how scrawny Odd is.

"Hey Shawn," Ulrich asked. "What this talk about how you came to class sweaty and that you were only running? People are talking about it."

Shawn wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Well, you see here, I am a parkour runner."

"What is that?" asked Odd, still stuffing his face.

"A parkour runner is one who, just runs. Parkour is the art of running. It is a state of mind; one that allows the user to see things in a new way. Runners aim to move quickly and efficiently through the environment with only their bodies. For me, I run to feel a sense of freedom, like nothing can stop me. You can think of it like running through a military obstacle course. It can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and act carelessly."

"It sounds exciting." said Aelita.

Shawn smiled at her. "I know, parkour means something different for each person, but to everyone, it is still a state of mind; being able to overcome and adapt to mental and emotional obstacles along with physical barriers and to touch the world and interact with it, instead of being sheltered by it."

"That's amazing," commented William. "I never thought that someone can do things like that."

"I find it interesting myself.' Ulrich chimed in.

"Big deal, you're just jumping on roofs to show how strong you are, nothing special." Jeremy muttered, looking at his laptop.

Shawn felt anger rise up in himself. "People don't run to show off, Jeremy!" he yelled as he pounded his hand on the table, attracting other students' attention. "Only a few people have used their skills to show off, but they did it to reach out to the public to spread the art form!" He sat back in his seat, taking deep breathes.

"Please, I don't understand how your fancy footwork makes you feel free, when you're catching people's attention in the street and appearing on the six o clock news as an athletic ninja or something. To me, all your state of mind talk is just bull shit."

Shawn jumped out of his seat and slammed his hands on the table, making everyone jump. "Shut your god damn mouth!" he yelled. "You don't know what you're talking about. Parkour has helped me a great deal in my life."

Jeremy scoffed at him. "Yeah, I can clearly see how muscular you look."

Shawn's temper could not take it anymore. He reached across the table, grabbed Jeremy by his shirt collar, and dragged him onto the table. Shawn stared into the frightened kid's eyes and spoke into his ear, loud enough for the rest of the gang to hear. "When my mother died four years ago, I overcame my depression through parkour, and then it became my passion so I wouldn't become depressed about it again." He pushed Jeremy back to his seat and stared at him while everyone in the cafeteria stared back at Shawn.

"What is going on here?!" shouted a booming voice. It was Jim. He listened to one of the girls for the situation and then stormed over to team Lyoko's table. "Davidson! Were you fighting with Belpois here?"

Shawn took a deep breath. "I did. This little bastard has the nerve to insult both myself and my sport." Jim asked Odd if it was true, which he nodded to. Jim escorted both boys to the dorm rooms, while everyone else discussed what had happened.

Jim led the two boys to their room and threw them in. "You're both lucky Principal Delmas isn't here and I'm feeling tired tonight, so you both will stay in your room for the remainder of the night and settle your problems by morning." He then closed the door, leaving the two alone.

Shawn sat down on his bed while Jeremy started up his computer and began working. Shawn pulled out his laptop and began playing Half-Life 2. By nine o clock, the two did not say a word to each other, when Shawn decided to break the ice. "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that at dinner." He said. Jeremy continued to type codes however, which got Shawn irritated. "What are you working on this time?" he walked up behind him.

"Leave me alone, this is private stuff." Jeremy snapped back.

Shawn pushed Jeremy aside to see the screen. All he saw was some 3D models of what looked like a purple human cat, a couple of ninja, and what looked like a pink-clothed elf when Jeremy attacked him. They both fought each other, waving their arms around until Shawn accidentally slammed his hand on the keyboard, causing the drop box to display a message before disappearing.

Jeremy shoved his roommate aside to address the issue. He typed some commands and in no time, the drop box of the models came back up. "Look what you've almost done!" he shouted. "You almost permanently deleted my character data files!"

Shawn tried to apologize, but Jeremy shushed him. "No, ever since you got here, which is only one day; you have been a pain in the ass. I hate you. My friends might like you and think you're an okay guy, but I don't! And now, you almost deleted important data from my computer! I want you out of this room by tomorrow and into your own and I don't care what you do from now on as long as you stay away from me and my friends."

"Fine, I'll go," Shawn said. "But know this; I will get you one of these days Jeremy. In fact, I hope you live a shitty life of loneliness and depression. I don't understand how your friends even like you the way you are. I tried reaching to you to try to be friends, but you think I'm just strange and an annoyance." Shawn crawled into bed and pulled the covers over his face, without even changing his clothes or removing his shoes.

Jeremy stood in place and just sighed. He went back to his computer and continued working until quarter to ten. He then checked if Shawn was asleep, which he was, and called Aelita. "Jeremy? What is it?" she moaned.

"Hey. You up for going to the Cortex to find some information on Tyron or XANA?" he asked.

"Um, okay. Are you and Shawn okay now?"

"No, that's why I want to go to the factory. Can you call the others and let them know? Great, see you at the factory." He hung up and, as quietly as he can, left the room.

Shawn opened his eyes and threw off his covers. _What do you have planned at this factory Jeremy?_ He thought as he followed after him outside to the forest. Staying close behind, Shawn saw Jeremy meet up with Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita before opening a manhole and descend into the sewers. He then followed suit. From there, they grabbed scooters and skateboards and rode deep within the sewer system. He followed behind them with a skateboard lying nearby, which he guessed was for Yumi.

Shawn followed them to the end of the sewer system and took cover and watched them climb up a ladder to the surface which, after they all went up, he did the same. Shawn poked his head out and found himself in front of an old, abandoned factory with the gang rushing inside.

_I'll see what you're up to. _He thought as he sprinted after them, only, when he made it inside, he came into contact with air as he fell off the platform. He fell down to ground level, but survived thanks to his parkour training. He rolled on impact, absorbing the damage.

"Was that Yumi?" Ulrich's voice rang out. Shawn rushed behind the elevator shaft nearby as Ulrich came out to check. He saw nothing, shrugged, and went back to the others. "Must've been a rat or something." He said. Shawn, however, had climbed onto the ceiling of the elevator since the shaft was open. He held on as the gang activated it and descended down.

Shawn wondered what was going on at the factory, but, unfortunately for him, things will take a big turn for the worse.

**(A/N: Sorry if this chapter was really long; tried squeezing in a lot of character development here. If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review, and give it a follow.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N: I do not own Code Lyoko; just Shawn Davidson.)**

Chapter 2

Shawn had no idea what he was doing when he decided to follow Jeremy and the others, but his curiosity has gotten the better of him multiple times before. He kept thinking what an idiot he was while holding onto the elevator as it descended down. He opened the ceiling shaft a tiny bit to see the group. Luckily, they did not hear him.

"So Odd, tell us what happened to your date, Natasha?" Jeremy asked.

Odd hung his head low. "She said she had an exam to study for tomorrow," he moaned. "Apparently, a test is a bigger concern than going out with the great Odd Della Robbia."

"You'll get another chance," said Aelita, perking him up. "Well, first you gotta fix your stinky feet." She giggled. Odd gave her a stare that would have killed her if he could.

After a minute, the elevator stopped and the door opened, revealing a huge room with a supercomputer and a large central hub. Shawn could not believe what he was seeing. He was just about to jump down and join them, when the elevator door closed.

Shawn dropped down and was about to hit the "up" button when his curiosity kicked in again. He then questioned what to do: open the door and meet the group, or leave them alone. He got himself together and pushed the "up" button, until he realized he accidentally pushed "down." "Ah, crap." He said. The elevator descended yet again.

Inside the hub room, the gang heard the elevator. "Yumi and William must be here," said Jeremy. "I'll start up the automatic virtualization process. This makes it quicker for you all to get to Lyoko; you just step in the scanner, and the supercomputer does the rest." Jeremy inputted the codes and set Sector 5 as the destination. "Okay, got it done. Ready everyone?"

"Jeremy, you mind telling us why you wanted to go to the Cortex at ten thirty at night?" Ulrich asked.

Jeremy sighed and wiped his glasses clean. "Well, if you must know, I got in a fight with Shawn in our room. He almost deleted all your Lyoko character data and I yelled at him. I told him to stop poking in on our business, and told him to move to another room tomorrow. I feel bad about it, and I want to apologize to him tomorrow, tell him I was being a hot head."

Jeremy stood up and walked over to the virtual interface in the room's center. "Do you guys think I was being horrible to him at dinner?" he asked. The others nodded their heads.

Meanwhile, for Shawn, the elevator door opened and he stepped out into the scanner room. He moved about, observing the machines before him. _What are these things, transporters from Star Trek?_ He thought. There were only three, and they were all closed.

Shawn looked at one of them, when it suddenly opened on its own, making him jump. Shawn was beginning to sweat, debating what to do. He swallowed, and stepped inside the scanner; his curiosity butting in when it should not. Then the doors close, trapping him inside. He started beating on the doors while calling for help, but there was no answer.

The automatic virtualization process started, but upstairs, Jeremy did not hear it since the elevator opened and Yumi and William stepped out, asking questions. A character card depicting Shawn appeared on the supercomputer. Back in the scanner room, Shawn began freaking out when he saw bright lights flashing below his feet. Then, the lights enveloped him, and he was virtualized.

Inside Lyoko's Sector 5, Shawn virtualized with the starting room. He fell from the air and landed on his face. He pulled himself up from the floor groaning in pain when he realizes he was not hurt. He walked in a circle, taking in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a circular enclosed room, with a giant blue dome surrounding the room. He then saw his clothes.

Suffice to say, he has wondered what he would look like in a virtual world in a video game, but the way he was dressed was vastly different from what he thought of.

He was wearing russet brown leather boots like from a fantasy game, and they felt as light as a feather, he had on taupe gray cargo pants with medium blue computer chip lines up the sides. He had a large brown belt wrapped around his waist, with a big, silver belt buckle with the engraving of a dragon. Shawn noted that his belt was home to two gun pouches, each home to gunslinger revolvers modeled after steam punk. His upper body was clothed in a black shirt with two undone buttons. The shirt, for some reason or another, had a long sleeve reach down to his left elbow, while the right had none.

Shawn noticed that under his shirt, he was wearing chainmail. His shoulders wore small silver shoulder pads, his left arm wrapped in bandages down to his wrist, his right arm instead, marked with a full-arm black dragon pattern tattoo reaching from his shoulder to his wrist. On his hands wore brown leather, padded, fingerless gloves. The shirt had an emblem of a silver dragon woven into the fabric, as well as more medium blue computer chip lines on the side of the chest. Shawn noticed a medium blue neckerchief around his neck, and brown leather body strap across his chest. He looked behind and found two swords, one across his back, and a shorter one strapped to his belt in between the revolvers.

Shawn was both mesmerized and confused by all this. He would be more so if he could see his eyes as they were colored silver. He drew the swords to admire them. They were both straight-edged full tang ninja swords. They were black as night, the one from his back as long as his entire arm while the other about half the length. He noticed that they both had engravings of a silver dragon on them. He sheathed the blades and took out the revolvers. He opened them and found them loaded with glowing bullets. He closed them and tested them, firing all the rounds. Empty, he opened them back up, but was surprised to see them magically reloaded. He holstered them and ventured out the dome.

"This must be that game Jeremy told me about." He said to himself. Outside, he hoped on an elevator and headed up. When the ride ended, he found himself in front of a large object; which he recognized from Jeremy's computer as the water vehicle.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, the gang has arrived in the scanner room while Jeremy was checking out the maps of Lyoko. Imagine his surprise when he saw a blinking icon in the Skidbladnir docking room. "Guys," he said on the intercom. "There's something with the Skid! Get there quickly!"

The gang got virtualized and headed straight for the elevator. When they reached the Skid, they saw a strangely-clothed character admiring it. Sadly, for Shawn, he did not hear the elevator, nor did he sense Ulrich as he jumped on top of him, pinning him with a sword to the back of his neck.

"What the hell's going on?" he asked. Ulrich recognized his voice. Ulrich lifted him up, sword still at his throat, and led him the rest. "Oh, hi everyone, what's up?" Shawn asked weakly.

"How did you get here?" commanded Aelita. She could not get an answer out of Shawn due to him laughing at Odd, questioning about why he looked like a purple cat. Odd punched him in the face in response.

"Alright, I followed you guys to the factory, because I got curious when Jeremy left," he said. "I never thought you finished your video game."

"This isn't a game," Yumi snapped. "This is serious stuff going on. And you need to leave now. Devirtualize him Jeremy."

Jeremy inputted the codes, but got a negative response. "I can't," he said. "There's something up with the coding. You guys need to Devirtualize Shawn yourself."

Unfortunately, Shawn heard him, and his eyes glowed brightly for a split second. Before Ulrich could plunge his sword into him, Shawn had escaped his grip and clashed his blade with his. Everyone was surprised by this maneuver, and Shawn took that opportunity to kick Ulrich away, and jump away from the others.

Odd fired off a barrage of arrows, but Shawn swatted them with his blades, with a follow up from his revolvers, four of the rounds hitting Odd. William disappeared and emerged behind Shawn, but thanks to his eyes, he sensed it coming. He blocked his sword strike with his revolvers before rolling out of danger. William rushed him with an overhead strike, but Shawn kicked the blade aside and ran up to the top of the Skid.

Ulrich jumped with him and they both unleashed their fury onto each other. Ulrich seemed to have the upper hand until Shawn grabbed one of his blades with a free hand, rip it from his grip and stab him in the back with it, causing Ulrich to fall onto the platform below. He was still in the game thanks to Jeremy's upgrades though. He pulled the blade out and faced Shawn, poised and ready.

"Jeremy, he's too strong! What should we do?" Ulrich asked.

"I-I don't know." Jeremy responded. It was true, he could not think of anything.

**Will the Lyoko warriors be able to stop Shawn before things could get worse?**

**(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you like it, leave a review, and follow this story or myself for more awesome stories. I'll see you in the next chapter.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: I do not own Code Lyoko, I only own Shawn Davidson.)**

Chapter 3

The Lyoko warriors circled Shawn, still poised on top of the Skid. Jeremy was busy inputting codes into the supercomputer. When he finished, a message box appeared with a large green check mark. "Guys, I finished inputting some new abilities for you. Use them against Shawn and get him out of Lyoko. Hearing the news, they began their attack.

Odd fired a dozen arrows at Shawn, who dodged them, until he noticed they were circling back at them. "_Damn, Homing arrows._"He thought as he deflected them. After that, Yumi launched her fans at him. Shawn blew them out of the sky with his guns when he was suddenly knocked off the Skid by a large boulder flying into him. Shawn fell off, and almost landed on William's blade when he twisted in mid-air. William swiped at him a few times before striking his sword into the floor, creating a small earthquake. Shawn stumbled a little before William rushed him, swinging his mighty blade when Shawn pushed it aside with his own and driving them into William's chest, devirtualizing him.

"William!" Odd shouted. He ran at Shawn firing off over a dozen laser arrows two of which hitting him. Odd jumped at Shawn, twisting himself horizontally like a torpedo, and fired a dozen arrows at him while Shawn emptied his revolvers as well. Of all the firepower, five of Shawn's bullets hit and devirtualized Odd, while only three arrows hit Shawn, but they were not enough.

"Good try Odd," said Jeremy's voice. "But it wasn't enough to stop him. Shawn has only forty life points left. Take him out now."

Yumi, Aelita, and Ulrich confronted him. Yumi threw her fans, which flew towards Shawn in unrecognizable patterns but he swatted them away with his blades. Aelita flew overhead, firing off her energy spheres. Shawn dodged them and fired his revolvers at her, missing every shot. Yumi and Ulrich came at him with their quarterstaff and swords. The three of them swung at each other in a furious battle. But Shawn gained the upper hand, as he kicked Ulrich away and jumped over Yumi's swing. He tripped her and plunged his blade into her chest, devirtualizing her.

Shawn looked at Ulrich and saw a look of anger upon his face. Ulrich sprinted at him, taking him by surprise with his speed. Shawn blocked his blows and they clashed blades together. Sparks made of binary data flew from their blades as they fought to a stand still. At last, Ulrich won the clash and knocked both of Shawn's swords from his hands. Ulrich slashed with his left blade, but Shawn caught his wrist and twisted the blade out of it into his own.

They both attacked each other again. Now, Shawn was gaining the upper hand, when Ulrich separated into three and surrounded him. Shawn turned about, wondering which the real one was. He attacked one and it disappeared upon contact. Shawn realized his mistake and swung his sword behind his back, making contact with the real Ulrich. Ulrich could not believe Shawn saw his next move, but it was too late. Shawn crouched, and swung his sword in an uppercut, hitting Ulrich and devirtualizing him. He gathered his own swords and looked around.

"Where are you Aelita?" he called, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. "C'mon, I already have a four kill-streak going and things are getting interesting." He still thought this was a game. Aelita stepped out from behind the Skid to face him.

"This is no game Shawn. Give up now before something bad happens." She said. Instead, he drew his swords and ran alongside the wall, coming at her. Aelita threw energy fields at him, but they all missed. He sprang from the wall and landed behind her, grabbing her and pinning a sword at her neck.

"I know this is all some big video game, why else would someone build this huge virtual world? I can't see it being used for science or anything else," He was about to stick his blade in her when he saw someone on top of the Skid. It looked human, but had no facial features and was clothed in a glowing green light. "Who's that, another player?" he asked.

"Oh no!" yelled Jeremy. "Ninjas have just entered Lyoko! They're here to acquire our data for Tyron. Aelita, Shawn, you must defeated all of them before they reach the core."

Shawn released Aelita as six more Ninjas drop from the ceiling. Aelita threw some energy fields at them, making contact with only one, which disappeared. "Jeremy, I need something better to fight the Ninjas." Aelita said.

Jeremy entered some codes and pressed the enter key. On Lyoko, a French model 1831 infantry sword materialized in her hand. It had a light pink streak through the blade. Aelita and Shawn rushed at the Ninjas. Aelita took out one of them herself, but was devirtualized by another; did not help that she had no experience with swords either.

Shawn, meanwhile, was battling with the rest. He could tell that his foes were no novices when it came to fighting. He kicked one in the chest, making it stumble, and stabbed it in the head, devirtualizing it. He turned to another. He clashed swords with this one, which he deflected its blades and spun around and stabbed it in the back, taking that one out. With another, Shawn simply ran straight at his foe, jumping at him, knocking him down and slid his short blade into him. The last two Ninjas ganged up on him. He dodged a stab from one, taking its blade in the process. He sweep-kicked the two enemies and plunged his blades into them, devirtualizing them.

Shawn sheathed his swords and stood up, looking around for any more opponents. Seeing none, he took a breath in. "Who wants some!" he shouted. "Anyone left to face the man and a half?" No answer. Shawn sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Now what do I do?"

"Now you must devirtualize yourself," Said Jeremy. "Just stab yourself with your sword and you'll be back in the factory." Shawn drew one of his swords and, like Jeremy said, fell onto it and disappeared.

Back in the factory, Shawn emerged from one of the scanners exhausted and feeling like he got the wind knocked out of him. "_What a ride,_"he thought. He headed for the supercomputer room. When he got there, he was greeted with applause from everyone. The gang patted his back and commented on his performance on Lyoko. Jeremy sat in his chair, a smile on his face.

"Shawn," said Jeremy. "I want to thank you for taking out the Ninjas on Lyoko. If you weren't there to stall us from going out to the Cortex, the core and all our data would've been exposed. We all owe you our thanks." Jeremy walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I also want to apologize for my behavior tonight. It was wrong of me to say those things about you. Want to stay friends?"

Shawn smiled. "Of course. You know, I'm really interested in this Lyoko you guys have here as well; perhaps you can explain all this to me?"

Jeremy and the gang gave Shawn a run down of everything; Lyoko, XANA, Aelita, and their mission. After hearing all this, Shawn could not believe it. "So you guys fight this XANA to stop him from destroying the world, and Lyoko is the only way to gain information on him and to fight him. And Aelita is the daughter of Lyoko's creator. It all sounds pretty cool to me. Mind if I join you guys?"

The group gathered together and talked in hushed whispers. After a couple minutes, they faced Shawn. "If you want to, you may." Jeremy said. Shawn was happy at the decision.

"This calls for a cheer of 'Go Lyoko'," said Odd. He stretched his right hand outward. "Let's fight XANA together." Everyone placed their hands on top of each other.

"Let's do it." Said Ulrich

"Nothing will stop us." Said Yumi.

"We are strongest together." Jeremy said.

"Let's finish XANA now and forever." Said William.

"We will destroy XANA and save my father." Said Aelita.

"I'm ready for anything." Shawn said.

Together, they threw their hands in the air and cheered, "Go Lyoko!"

The group has another member to help in the fight against XANA; now they are stronger, and nothing will hinder their mission. But the adventures of Shawn Davidson and team Lyoko does not end here yet. We will continue to watch them as their final battle against XANA draws closer now. Friendships will strengthen, conflicts will occur, and XANA will become more fierce with his attacks.

**(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, leave a review, and follow this story or myself for more stories, and I'll see you in the next chapter.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: Sorry for the long wait for the update. I do not own Code Lyoko; only Shawn Davidson.)**

Chapter 4

It has been almost two weeks since Shawn joined team Lyoko, and things have been taking a turn for the worse. The kids have been trying to obtain information from Tyron's supercomputer, but to no avail. Not only that, XANA has made things more challenging in his attacks on Earth; creating new monsters and devising new strategies.

Things have not been going well however. Both Odd and Yumi have lost all their codes, and Ulrich and Aelita have very little left of theirs. They have been in many close calls with specters already as well. The only upside to all of this is that Jeremy managed to reprogram the Forest and Ice Sectors.

The gang was sitting at their spot at the park bench.

"In total, our combined codes equal to 23%," Jeremy said, looking at his laptop. "Not only that, with XANA at almost 80%, his specters have been more advanced."

Ulrich nodded his head. "Yeah, they've been getting faster and stronger each time. We need to figure out a plan."

"By the way everyone, I'm gonna make some improvements to your Lyoko forms, do you have any suggestions?"

Everyone thought about it for a while. Aelita said nothing, but everyone said they wanted their old forms back. Shawn asked if he could do something about deleting his short sword. Jeremy said he will do something about it.

The day went normally, XANA decided to take a break for once. But sadly, things will only get worse the next day. Jeremy worked all night to complete his friends' wishes. He managed to finish before the sun came up. Jeremy could only wish the day will get better.

The time was now. Around noontime, at the factory, several of XANA's monsters materialized in the real world. They were krabs, kankrelats, bloks, and a couple tarantulas. They were all positioned in the factory waiting for orders when a virtual figure of XANA appeared before them.

XANA appeared as a man dressed in black. He wore black boots, and his clothes had red computer chip lines running throughout it. His eye was stamped on his chest and it glowed with a red evil light. He smiled at his minions.

"I am getting tired of these children interfering with my plans. I want you all to go and destroy this city. Kill anyone who's foolish enough to face you, head to Kadic Academy and find the Lyoko warriors and kill them," XANA ordered. He pointed to a krab and blok. "You two stay here in case they come here. They will come to deactivate the tower." The monsters bowed slightly and exited the factory, and the Krab and Blok standing guard. XANA laughed and disappeared in a flash.

The monsters moved through the city attacking anyone they saw. People ran in terror from them as they destroyed whatever they saw fit. The police came in to quell the attack, but they were no match for the monsters and were defeated. Soon, a couple of monsters reached Kadic, causing panic throughout the area. The students ran for their lives as the creatures attacked without mercy. Team Lyoko snuck off to the sewers without detection and hurried to the factory.

They met XANA's welcoming committee at the elevator. The two monsters fired upon them. Jeremy and Aelita took cover while Shawn and Odd tried distracting them. Luckily, XANA's monsters were still dumb as bricks, and Ulrich and Yumi attacked them with broken pipes. Ulrich climbed on top of the krab and stabbed it as Yumi finished off the blok. They all rushed down to the supercomputer so Jeremy could start the virtualization process.

"Okay, XANA has activated a tower in the Forest sector, now I need you all on Lyoko now." said Jeremy.

"What about the students and people in the city?" Shawn asked. "People are dying out there; we need to go protect them from the monsters or they'll die."

"Shawn's right Jeremy," said Aelita. "Some of us need to stay here to prevent any casualties. Deactivating the tower won't matter if people are dead."

Jeremy closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought. "You're right. It's time to virtualize you guys on Earth again. I want at least two of you with Aelita and Ulrich however. Any volunteers?"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds when Shawn raised his hand. "I'll stay here. My skills will help more here than on Lyoko."

Odd raised his hand as well. "I'll go with Shawn too. Things will be more fun here anyway." Jeremy gave him a look that said he was not amused.

"Alright then," Jeremy said, turning back to the monitors. "Everyone, head down to the scanners. Shawn, Odd, you get in first and I'll start up the procedure. After that, the rest of you can go."

They gang headed down to the scanner room. Shawn and Odd stepped inside two as Jeremy started the virtualization process.

"Transfer Odd. Transfer Shawn. Scanner. Virtualization!"

A moment later, the two of them appeared in the factory's central area. They landed on the ground and looked about. The process was a success. The two of them climbed the cables to the entrance.

"You guys alright?" said Jeremy's voice. "Before you ask, I installed a program that will allow me to communicate with you when you're virtualized on Earth. It's all in your head."

"Don't worry Jeremy, we're fine." Odd answered.

The two of them started running for the city as fast as they could. Around them, they found only destruction; overturned cars, destroyed buildings and street property, and craters from lasers.

"XANA has really lost it this time." Shawn commented.

"Yeah, he should really a hobby to do in his spare time." Said Odd, and they both laughed. Their moment was cut short when a krab and tarantula appeared from around the block and fired upon them. The two of them took cover behind a car.

The krab moved closer to their position while the tarantula readied itself at their hiding spot. Shawn drew his revolvers and drew breath. "I'll draw the Tarantula's attention and you take out the Krab, okay?" he told Odd. He nodded and poised himself. "Now!" Shawn shouted, and stood up, firing all his rounds at the tarantula. The monster fired upon him as Shawn strafed, avoiding its shots. Odd jumped on top of the krab and fired into its eye, killing it. Shawn drew his now only blade and rushed the monster, dodging as he drew close. He jumped off a car and landed on top of the tarantula and stabbed it. The boys gave each other a high five and pressed on for the school.

On Lyoko, Everyone was heading for the tower, taking out any monsters they came across. They were happy to have their old forms as well, except for Aelita, who kept her current one. They encountered very little resistance with their foes. Soon, they were close to the activated tower; only problem was it was guarded by two megatanks, a tarantula, and one of XANA's newest monsters: a crusher. Why is it called that?

Well, it resembles what could be described as a giant bear or animal, and it just loves to rush its prey with its hardened frontal exterior and bash and crush it prey in its giant claws. Suffice to say, it is a monster not to be taken lightly.

The crew had to figure out some kind of plan. William had one, and a very stupid one at that. He disappeared into smoke and rushed over to the monsters. He stabbed the tarantula and swung a sword beam into one of the megatanks, destroying it. Sadly, William forgot about the crusher and it grabbed him with a claw. It began beating him into the ground, draining his life points with each smash. William tried escaping its reach, but the monster bore down onto him, devirtualizing him instantly. It was not a pretty sight.

Back in the city, Shawn was in the schoolyard, fighting off a few krabs and kankrelats. Odd, at the moment, was busy escorting some of the students into the buildings for safety. He joined Shawn and, together, they finished off the rest of the monsters. The battle was far too easy for the two of them, and they were victorious.

Back on Lyoko, the gang finished off the last megatank, but Aelita was devirtualized in exchange. The crusher charged at them at a fast speed, forcing Ulrich and Yumi to retreat. They need a new plan in getting past the monster.

Back at Kadic, Shawn and Odd were about to head back into the city when they were met with a strange man at the gates. He was completely dressed in black, from his boots to his neck. He held a black broadsword in his hand. The only thing that stood out about him was his chest; the eye of XANA imprinted upon it, red veins flowing from it. It was XANA!

Shawn drew his sword and Odd raised his arm to attack. But, in a flash, XANA rushed forward and ran his sword through Odd, devirtualizing him. He turned to Shawn and struck, but was blocked by his quick senses. XANA struck back at him some more, only to be met with more blocks. XANA swung at him, but Shawn ducked under it and slashed XANA across his chest, knocking him back.

"You are very strong," spoke XANA. "I want to offer you a deal. Interested?"

Shawn lowered his sword. "What are you talking about?"

XANA laughed. "Your strength is being wasted with these children. They are only using you for their own benefit. If you join me, I can give you what you most desire. Power, women, and riches will be yours. Whatever your little heart desires, you can have it, if you only take my hand and join forces with me." XANA stuck his hand out, waiting for Shawn's decision.

Shawn was hesitant about this. Deep down, he had a feeling that he really was just a tool, and the temptation for anything he could ever want being right in front of him. He thought about it, and finally, he reached his hand out, but, again, he was hesitant.

"Shawn! Don't do it!" he heard Aelita's voice in his head, reaching out to him from the lab. "It's just one of XANA's tricks! He will only use your body as one of his minions; he will destroy every bit of your mind until you're just a puppet."

Shawn's hand froze in place. He realized what he was doing and took his hand back. How could he be tempted like this and betray his friends? He drew his sword and attacked XANA. XANA struck back, infuriated that he turned him down.

"Foolish child!" yelled XANA. "How dare you refuse my will? You will face my full wraith now!" XANA jumped at him, bringing the full weight of his sword onto Shawn. They both clashed blades together. Shawn threw XANA off himself and attacked. The two of them bounced their swords off each other, looking for an opening. Shawn cut XANA's leg, but it did not even stop him. XANA surprised him by disappearing and slicing his back, draining 30 life points. Shawn recovered and struck back. The battle was not over yet.

On Lyoko, Ulrich and Yumi finally got an idea to avoid the crusher. Ulrich triplecated himself and sent one of them out at the crusher. The monster grabbed the clone and pulverized it into the ground before it suddenly disappeared. The last clone and Yumi jumped out and attacked the crusher, but their weapons did not leave a dent on it. Ulrich sprinted from the hiding spot, making a beeline for the tower. The crusher saw this and rushed at him. Yumi used her telekinesis and dropped a large boulder in the crusher's path, stopping it momentarily for Ulrich to reach the tower.

"Jeremy, Ulrich's inside the tower now." Yumi said. Jeremy let out a sigh of relief and rematerialized her.

As for Shawn, he battle was coming to an end. XANA swung his sword, but Shawn jumped over it and plunged his blade into XANA's chest. XANA fell to the ground defeated. Shawn was about to retrieve his sword when XANA grabbed him and pulled him close.

"It's not over yet Shawn Davidson," XANA whispered. "I am close to my goal, and soon this world will be mine. When the time comes, you will be sorry you refused my offer. You should be more aware of your surroundings; my minions have been attacking the school doors for a while now. I will see you again." XANA laughed as his body disappeared.

Shawn grabbed his sword and raced for the school doors. XANA was right; krabs have just broken the doors and have entered. He could hear screams coming from inside. He rushed to save everyone, but he was barricaded by three tarantulas that fired upon him. Shawn took cover behind the vending machines.

Ulrich brought up the tower interface and entered, "CODE LYOKO". _Tower deactivated_. Jeremy initiated the return to the past program and everything went back.

It was ten o' clock in the morning. Everyone was minding their business as usual. Team Lyoko was at the vending machines chatting about the recent attack.

"We had a real close call this time." Jeremy said.

Odd nodded. "I know, XANA is pulling all the stops now. Things will only get rough from here on out."

"I think the victory here goes to Shawn," Ulrich remarked, catching his attention. "If it wasn't for him, there would've been casualties at the school. Plus, his battle with XANA showed him that we're not to be messed with."

"The bigger question is, why did XANA appear and offer Shawn an alignment?" Yumi asked.

"I think I might know," Shawn answered. "He saw me as a strong warrior, but he knew he couldn't try to take me forcefully like William, so he tried tempting me. Thing is, I almost agreed to join him."

The whole group was shocked. They could not believe what they just heard.

"But, thanks to Aelita, I came to my senses. I realized that power and riches could not replace my friends, and I defeated him in battle. But XANA did tell me that he'll see me again, and that worries me."

"We'll have to be on our guard then. Also, we got class to go to now." Aelita said. Odd and Ulrich groaned as they have a test (again). Yet, they seem to fail their tests even when they go back in time. They all left for their classrooms, but Shawn stopped Aelita while the rest went on.

"Aelita, I want to thank you for saving me back there. If it wasn't for your words, I might've accepted XANA's offer."

Aelita smiled. "Shawn, I was just doing what I thought I had to save my friend, that's all."

"Well, it was you who brought me back to reality. Thank you." Shawn then did a risky move and gave Aelita a quick kiss before heading to class. She blushed a little as she followed behind him to the classroom. They had another day where they stopped XANA once again. However, things are only going to get more difficult now.

**(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this, leave a review, and check out my other fanfics as well. I'll see you next time.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: My time has been really pressed lately. Anyway, enjoy this chapter; I don't own Code Lyoko, only Shawn Davidson.)**

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Chapter 5

It was daytime, and the gang was in their classes. Jeremy, Odd, Ulrich, and Shawn were in math class. Jeremy was paying attention while Ulrich was doing all he could to stay awake, Odd was drawing on his paper, and Shawn was drifting back and forth from the teacher and outside the window, lost in daydreams. Soon, class was over, and the boys met up with the others at the vending machines.

"So, how was math?" Yumi asked.

"Still boring like every day, nothing new," replied Ulrich. "I'd rather deal with one of XANA's attacks instead."

"Yeah, but a XANA attack still won't save your class grade Ulrich," Odd said, jumping in.

"I need to run a superscan for any XANA attacks soon," said Jeremy. "With things being the way they are, I need to keep an eye on him while trying to find a way to destroy him for good this time."

"What about my mother?" Aelita asked. Recently, on one of their trips to the Cortex, they discovered that Aelita's mother is working with Tyron. Since then, they have been trying to make contact with her.

"Don't worry Aelita, we will find a way to rescue your mother from Tyron."

"Well, before you do that, we have our last class for the day," Shawn said. "We better go before Ms. Hertz gives us detention."

They nodded and followed him to the science building while Yumi and William headed for their English class. Class went the same as usual; nothing different. After that, the gang went to dinner. Even dinner felt the same; Odd taking enough to feed five people, Jeremy had his laptop checking on XANA, and everyone chatting it up.

Halfway through dinner, Shawn started yawning. He excused himself from the others and decided to sleep early. Everyone was fine with that, especially Odd, who took what was left of his meal. Shawn went back to his room, changed, and crawled into bed.

He had only slept for some hours when he awoke from a terrible nightmare. He dreamt he was watching XANA brutally beat him and then kill his friends while he watched. Shawn could recall the dream vividly. He saw XANA kill them, starting from Jeremy, ending with Aelita. As XANA laughed in triumph, that is when he woke up.

Shawn sat up in bed and held his arms to his chest. He was sweating furiously, as he took deep breathes. When he finally calmed down, Shawn looked at the clock; it was close to midnight. Sighing, he got up and changed into his running clothes. He strapped his phone to his belt and grabbed some coins for the vending machines.

"Hey, you okay Shawn?" Jeremy asked, sitting up from his bed.

"Did I wake you? Sorry about that. I had a nightmare, and I just want to run it off." He said, and left the room.

Shawn headed out the dorm rooms and headed for the vending machines. To his surprise, he found Aelita there, so he went up to her.

"What are you doing here princess?" he asked.

She jumped a little at the sound of his voice. "Shawn. I came here for a drink."

He looked at her. She was dressed in her clothes for the next day. "Doesn't look like it. Tell me why you're up so late."

Aelita sighed. "Well, I had a bad dream about my mother. It was the thought of never seeing her again after all this time she's been gone from my life."

Shawn took her hand and led her over to a nearby bench and they both sat down. "I had a nightmare about XANA killing all of you. It felt so real to me, so when I woke up I thought I'd go running to forget about it."

"Seeing my mother in Tyron's lab has given me hope that my parents aren't gone forever," said Aelita. "If we can rescue her, then I can finally be with her after so long. Maybe, when all this is over, I can stop living this second life as Odd's cousin."

The two of them sat there and talked for a while. Unknown to them, a tall figure appeared from around the building corner. Shawn saw the figure and stood up, putting himself between the figure and Aelita. The figure came into the moonlight and revealed himself as Jim. Shawn and Aelita relaxed for a moment until Shawn saw Jim's eyes. They were XANA's!

"Aelita, we need to get out of here!" yelled Shawn. He grabbed her hand and they both ran, with Specter Jim hot on their heels. Aelita called Jeremy and explained the situation. Jeremy said he will get everyone to the factory to deactivate the tower.

Shawn led Aelita into the city with Jim still on them. "Shawn, where will we go now?" Aelita asked.

Shawn looked all around for an answer. He did find one though; on the rooftops. "Follow me," he said. He led her to the side of a small building. He jumped up and grabbed hold of the roof and pulled himself up, and then he pulled Aelita up. They both jumped across the roofs to other buildings to escape. Aelita did protest against the idea, but with their options, she did not have much of a choice.

They continued their escape until they reached the end of the street on a building roof four stories high with nowhere left to go. Specter Jim caught up to them and cornered them. They were trapped like rats, and the specter was closing in on them…

* * *

**(A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter is really short. I've been really busy these days. I'll get back on track soon though. Leave a review, and check out my other fanfictions. I'll see you next time.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know it's been a long time, but I was thinking about finishing up my first story before I get back to this one, especially since I felt this one wasn't getting much appraise. But, someone convinced me to get back on it, so here we are.**

**Chapter 6**

Shawn and Aelita were trapped. Specter Jim inched closer towards them.

"Forget it XANA!" Shawn shouted as he stretched an arm in front of Aelita. "You're not getting your hands on Aelita!"

Specter Jim only chuckled and stepped closer. The two children stepped back; their backs to the ledge. Shawn looked behind to see a sloped roof next to some trees, then he got an idea.

"Aelita," he whispered. "Climb on my back; I have an idea to get us out of here."

"Um, what is it?" she asked.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" She nodded and climbed on his back, hooking her arms and legs around him.

Specter Jim ran for them, that's when Shawn turned and jumped over the ledge. He landed and skidded down the slope; Aelita screamed and closed her eyes, too afraid to look.

At the end, Shawn jumped and grabbed hold of a tree branch. There, he climbed down to ground level, where Aelita got off him and slapped his face.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" she screamed hysterically. "We could've been killed!"

"Well, we would've been killed and your codes would've been taken. I thought this would work and it did."

The two of them took time to catch their breath. Aelita gave Shawn her thanks before looking to see Specter Jim slide down after them. That's when the two ran off down the street.

At the moment, the others were on Lyoko, working to deactivate the tower. Jeremy kept a close watch for monsters as the team sprinted through the forest sector. They had a few run-ins with Hornets, but they were little trouble.

They reached the tower only to be met with four of XANA's newest monster, Ghosts. They look human, but they're completely black and transparent. Worse, their fighting styles are completely random; they can be armed with anything.

One held two short swords, another was armed with a couple small guns, the third had nothing, but its hands glowed a faint white color. The fourth swung a chain with a small blade attached to it, grinning at the four warriors. They all stood side by side facing the Lyoko warriors.

"Hm, looks like we got ourselves some unhappy customers," said Odd.

"My guess is they didn't like your cooking," Yumi commented. "That or they can smell your feet."

"Hey, my cooking's really good, and my feet don't stink!"

"You guys can swap recipes later. Don't underestimate these guys." Jeremy said, frowning at them for getting distracted.

The Chain Ghost lashed out with its weapon, striking the ground, tearing it up as the warriors jumped to safety.

Odd found himself up against the glowing Ghost, Ulrich with the one with swords, Yumi had the Gunner Ghost, and William was left with the Chain Ghost. Odd's ghost threw a few energy blasts at him, whom he dodged and followed up with some laser arrows; only two hit their mark. Yumi was busy deflecting bullets with her fans, and William was struggling as his Ghost just ensnared him with its weapon.

Ulrich, however, was doing better. His foe struck him with its sword, but Ulrich brushed it aside with his hand and stabbed his free sword in his foe's back. The Ghost disappeared in a black mist. Ulrich made a mad dash for the tower, but the Energy Ghost spotted him and hit him with a blast, knocking him down.

"Careful Ulrich!" said Jeremy. "You just lost thirty life points; only forty left. Another couple hits like that and it's game over!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" Ulrich responded as he sprinted for cover.

Odd decided to be cocky again. "Well, did you know a human can only press a button sixteen time in a second?" he said as he jumped side jumped his opponent's energy blasts.

"Shut up Odd."

The Gunner Ghost fired a dozen rounds at Ulrich, who deflected all but two, losing ten life points in the process.

"Guys, you need to protect Ulrich or Shawn and Aelita are done for." Said Jeremy.

Odd took a chance. He jumped at the Gunner Ghost; the two fired everything at each other. Odd took every hit and was devirtualized, but so did the Ghost, disappearing in a black mist.

William turned to smoke and disappeared from view. The Ghost scanned the area; too bad it didn't look below. William came out from under, striking the Ghost and taking it out.

At last, there was only one left. The Energy Ghost became frantic, throwing all its attacks at everyone. Yumi did some flips towards it, dodging all its attacks. When she got close enough, she engaged in combat with her Bo staff. Since she was in close combat with a long range opponent, Yumi was soon victorious.

Ulrich rushed into the tower and went up to the interface. At the moment, in the real world, Specter Jim has just cornered Shawn and Aelita. Shawn was lying against a wall, hurt from trying to fight the specter, and it was inching towards Aelita. Ulrich brought up the interface and typed CODE LYOKO. The specter stopped in its tracks and disappeared in a flash of binary and data.

"Tower deactivated Jeremy." Ulrich said.

Aelita ran to Shawn's side. She patted her hand against her cheek. "Shawn, you alright?" Shawn groaned and opened his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You okay though?" Aelita smiled and embraced him in a hug. "I still hurt a little." He groaned. Aelita helped him up off the ground. Shawn rubbed his side and left arm. Just then, Aelita's phone rang.

"Aelita, are you and Shawn okay?" It was Jeremy.

"We're fine. Shawn's a little hurt, but nothing serious for a return to the past," she answered. "We're gonna head back to the academy. We'll see you there."

They all returned back to Kadic. They checked to make sure they were not hurt, and Aelita and Shawn swore up and down to Jeremy that they won't leave the school in the middle of night again. Jeremy, Ulrich, and Odd left while Aelita and Shawn stood together.

"I gotta say, you really saved our skins back there," Aelita said. "And it was kinda fun to do what you do. Thank you Shawn."

"It was nothing, really. I just did what I had to. But one thing's for sure, I shouldn't try to fight those specters ever again." Shawn chuckled to himself.

Aelita gave him a smile and a kiss before heading for her dorm room. Shawn stood there in the square, and just watched the full moon shine in the sky. He smiled and waved to the moon. "Good night Moon," He whispered and he went for his room. "Glad I got to share a night with Aelita with you, despite what happened."

**Make sure to leave a review, it really helps me out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Check out my other stories, and I'll see you next time. Sorry for the long wait again.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Time for a new chapter. Things are gonna heat up now so let's not wait anymore!**

**Chapter 7**

The Lyoko warriors were in the forest sector practicing some new abilities Jeremy had programmed. They stood in a clearing waiting patiently for Jeremy to start the programs.

"So, any idea what new abilities Jeremy has for us?" asked Ulrich.

"I dunno," said Odd. "But I hope they'll help us kick some more ass out of XANA's monsters."

"Give me a minute guys, I'm almost done," Jeremy said. "This wasn't easy to program you know."

"Yeah, yeah, skip all the science-y talk will ya'? I'm not in the mood for a nap."

Yumi stood by herself staring up at the digital sky. William was busy stretching his arms, and Shawn was practicing different stances with his sword. He swung his sword at invisible targets, moving with speed to cover all his angles.

"Alright, I'm done now. Let me give you guys a run through one at a time. Who wants to go first?" said Jeremy.

"Me first!" screamed Odd like a little child.

"Alright then. Give me a second…done! Okay, first off, I gave you an ability that will allow you to camouflage yourself temporary."

"Cool! Let me try it now." Odd closed his eyes and began concentrating. After a few seconds, he disappeared from view. Well, almost. While he was hard to spot, he was not completely camouflaged. Concentrate hard enough, and you will see a moving figure. Odd took that moment to run over and steal Shawn's sword. Shawn followed the floating blade and tackled the air, knocking Odd down just as he came into view.

"Never steal my sword again Odd," Shawn said. "That wasn't funny."

"If you two are done, I'd like to continue," scoffed Jeremy. "Now Odd, I made an upgrade to your laser arrows. Now you have the ability to fire several arrows at once in a spread formation; much like a shotgun. Give it a try."

At that moment, several Kankrelats materialized in front of Odd. They were frozen in place, and they were colored blue and missing the eye of XANA. Odd held up his arms, jerking them back suddenly like guns, and fired at the targets. The arrows spreaded out and hit the targets.

"Cool! Anything else under the tree?"

"Yep, I made an improvement on your shield. By placing your hands on the ground, you'll be able to form a barrier and even expand it outward to knock enemies off balance."

A circle of Kankrelats materialized around Odd. He crouched down and a purple dome formed around him. It shot outward, knocking the Krankrelat targets off their feet.

"Interesting abilities there Odd," commented William. "What'd ya' have for me Jeremy?"

"I've found a way to improve your Zweihandler. I improved your earthquake ability, and now, by striking the ground with your sword, you can send out shockwaves. Give it a shot."

William tried out his new moves; which worked perfectly. He was very satisfied.

Ulrich's new abilities consisted of firing sword beams, as well as strengthen it to penetrate defenses, and an improvement to his clones, allowing them to take three hits before disappearing. Yumi is now able to create shockwaves with her quarterstaff and her telekinesis has improved. Aelita' creativity ability is faster and her energy fields create splashes like an explosion.

Shawn earned a hefty sum of new abilities. Jeremy programmed his sword to pierce defenses as well as extend his blade's reach, and granted him a couple for his guns. Shawn tried them out; he can now use his silver eyes to lock onto targets like a scope, and unleash a storm of bullets unto his enemies with his revolvers. Not only that, Shawn got his own signature move; an ability that will allow him to unleash devastating flames with his sword at his command, much like a dragon. Shawn decided to call it his Dragon's Breath.

They all practiced their new found abilities for an hour or so until Jeremy materialized them back into the factory. As everyone headed home, they all glossed over their moves as well as congratulating Jeremy on his impressive work. The only problem that they've discovered was that Shawn's flames were able to harm them much like the monsters. Jeremy admitted that it was an error on his part; he could not find a way to fix it, so Shawn has to exercise caution.

-The next day, in the afternoon—

It was lunchtime; everyone was filling their stuffing themselves like pigs after a few long tests in class. Of course, Odd was filling himself up enough to explode, even though he did not need enough energy like the others since he fails his tests. Shawn was telling everyone about how he once got in trouble with the police back in Italy when he stormed into a construction site while performing parkour. Aelita snuggled up to him, listening attentively; it was clear the two of them were becoming intimate. Odd was still stuffing his face, Ulrich darted his gaze from Shawn and Yumi multiple times; Yumi the same, William had a look that said he was absolutely enthralled with Shawn's story, and Jeremy was typing something on his laptop.

As Jeremy finished typing a personal reminder, a message window popped up, making a beeping sound. He read the message over, his eyes widen in shock at what he read. "G-Guys," he stuttered. "We need to get to Lyoko now. I just received a message from Franz Hopper. He's on Lyoko right now." Everyone set their gaze on him, all shocked the same. Aelita put her hands over her mouth.

"He's on Lyoko? What does he want?" she whispered.

"I dunno, but he said to come immediately."

At that, the gang did not waste a moment. They all rushed out the cafeteria and sprinted for the forest. When they reached the factory, Jeremy relayed a message to Lyoko.

"Come in, Franz Hopper. Where are you?"

A message window appeared onscreen. "He's in the mountain sector; twenty-six degrees north, seventeen degrees west. Head down now, and I'll start up the automatic transfer." The others nodded and rushed down to the scanners. There, they hopped in, sending them all into Lyoko. When they were virtualized, they dropped into a large clearing in the mountains, with a large glowing sphere of energy floating nearby.

The warriors rushed to the sphere where it began glowing. In the lab, Jeremy received a voice message from Franz. "Guys, Franz had just informed me that he might've found a way to destroy XANA forever. This is amazing!"

"But it doesn't make sense," said Aelita. "I thought my father sacrificed himself to finish the anti-agent program before. How is he alive?"

Jeremy rubbed his chin as Franz sent him another message. "That's it! Franz divided himself into two on Lyoko. He did sacrifice himself, but the other half is here with us, alive and well."

"You think you can materialize him into the factory or something?" Ulrich asked.

"I'm not sure. I can try, but we'll need some time and we need him to download his plan into the supercomputer first. Protect Franz at all costs, we need that data."

The warriors drew their weapons and poised themselves ready for action. Franz began downloading the data into the supercomputer as Jeremy started extracting the data. Right then, many monsters virtualized from the sky. Tarantulas, Krabs, Hornets, Ghosts, Megatanks, and a figure were among them. XANA came to lead this squad this time, looking the same as he did before, save a black and blood red katana hanging on his back. XANA smiled at the youngsters and gave the order to attack.

Aelita flew overhead, firing her energy blasts onto their attackers, defeating a Tarantula and a few Krabs. Yumi and Odd fired their weapons at the megatanks, taking out two of them only to be replaced with Hornets. William charged after a Ghost armed with a Zweihandler like him. Ulrich struck down two Tarantulas with his blades to be met with XANA himself. Ulrich rushed at him, firing off sword beams as he drew closer. XANA brushed the beams aside with his katana and clashed with Ulrich.

Elsewhere, Shawn was taking out Hornets with his Dead Eye, picking them off like ducks in the sky. After they were gone, Shawn looked to see a Crusher scrapping his hooves against the ground, and charged. The monster knocked aside a Krab and Megatank, devirtualizing them in the process. Shawn drew his sword and focused his power into it, granting it a long, white glow. "This is a stupid move." He thought. As the Crusher drew closer, Shawn swung his blade in a wide arch, slashing through the creature's durable mask, devirtualizing it. "Wow, it worked."

Odd and Yumi were busy fighting a couple of Megatanks; one normal and one reversed. Exactly that, the reverse fires in a horizontal formation. Yumi ducked under the reverse as Odd jumped and fired a few arrow spreads into its eye. Sad part was, he also got caught in the blast and was devirtualized. Yumi took out the regular with little trouble.

At the moment, XANA had a defenseless Ulrich in his grasp. "You were foolish to try to face me," whispered XANA and plunged his blade through Ulrich.

"Jeremy, how much longer do you need?" yelled Shawn. "We just lost Ulrich and Odd and there's only a few Ghosts and Tarantulas left."

"Just a few seconds. We almost have all the data; hold them off!" replied Jeremy.

"Yeah, easy for you to say." William finished off his Ghost, but XANA decided to jump in the ring in its place. William raised his sword, gritting his teeth. XANA met him in a clash, and would've had the upper hand if Yumi didn't strike him with her fans. XANA pushed William off and turned to Yumi, striking her down with an energy blast from his hand. William struck the ground, causing several shockwaves in XANA's direction. XANA jumped over them with ease and landed on William, sliding his blade through his chest. He looked up to see Shawn and Aelita still fighting the last of his minions; a Ghost and two Tarantulas. He smiled and calmed walked his way toward them, taking his time.

"Guys! I got the data! I'm starting the materialization process now," exclaimed Jeremy.

"Well hurry up! This ain't exactly a tea party here!" said Aelita. She flew down and took cover behind Shawn, firing energy blasts alongside his slingers. One of the Tarantulas went down; another came from the sky. "Damnit! How many are there?"

Right there, the Tarantulas and Ghost stopped fighting, as did Shawn and Aelita, perplexed by all this. It all made sense however, as XANA came before them, his hand raised to silence his minions. Shawn drew his blade and a revolver in each hand, Aelita did the same with her weapons. Franz Hopper's sphere rapidly changed colors; Shawn could sense the fear in the sphere much like his own.

"What do you want XANA?" Shawn demanded. "What kind of game are you playing at?"

XANA chuckled. "Oh this is no game, Shawn Davidson. I am always serious with you children." He smiled as he raised his sword. In a flash, XANA aimed to strike Shawn, but was met with Aelita's sword instead. Aelita pushed him away, giving Shawn a quick glance, telling him to protect her father before engaging in combat with her mortal enemy. Sensing what was happening; the Ghost brandished its blade and engaged with Shawn.

Shawn and his foe swiped and blocked the other's moves. The Ghost took a leap over Shawn's swing and would've struck if Shawn didn't duck underneath. Shawn whispered "Dragon's Breath", and his blade erupted into flames. He twirled his blade around his body, setting patches of the ground ablaze. Shawn and the Ghost fought to a stand still, but Shawn got an idea. He grabbed his burning blade with his free hand, dribbling away some life points in the process, setting his hand on fire. He pressed his palm against his foe, forcing it to break the clash allowing Shawn to strike it down.

Shawn saw Aelita starting to weaken in her battle. He rushed as fast as he could to her. "I'm coming Aelita!" But it was too late. XANA stole her sword and stabbed with both blades, devirtualizing her. Shawn gripped his sword in both hands and rushed screaming onto XANA.

The two clashed blades. Shawn felt his anger bursting inside him while XANA relished in it. Shawn sweep kicked XANA, but he rolled away before Shawn could finish him. XANA halted Shawn's blade and took it. He wheeled around to stab it in his back, but was met with one of his guns taking the hit. He rolled away and fired his guns at XANA, who deflected them all. Shawn reloaded and slapped XANA's blade away with a pistol and followed up with three rounds to the chest. XANA kicked Shawn in the chest, knocking him to the ground. A killing blow would have followed but Shawn swung his leg into XANA's face, forcing him to drop Shawn's sword. Shawn recovered his blade and activated his Dragon's Breath. He swung his blade, sending a few fireballs in XANA's direction. XANA absorbed them with his blade, fueling its power. Shawn went for a slash, but XANA knocked his blade from his hand. He slashed him across the chest and kicked him to the ground. Shawn tried to grab one of his revolvers, but XANA grasped his hand and plunged his own flaming sword into it, pinning him to the ground.

Shawn felt a burning sensation throughout his body. XANA sat down on Shawn's back. "You are very strong for one so young; even more so than your friends. But don't think you are stronger than I." Shawn winched from the pain. "Now, watch as I destroy your confidence. You are weak, and you will realize it now." XANA took up his katana and raised it forward. The Tarantulas raised their heads and began firing onto the sphere of Franz Hopper. Franz attempted to run, but XANA threw out energy chains, tethering the sphere to the ground. Shawn tried to pull the blade out, but XANA fixed that by stabbing a dagger into his left hand.

Back in the lab, everyone crowded around the supercomputer as Jeremy tried desperately to finish the materialization process. He was at seventy-eight percent completion. Just a little more time. Shawn could only watch as XANA approached the sphere, his blade in hand. XANA ordered the monsters to dismiss. "At last, your time has come Hopper. Your death is coming!" he yelled and plunged his blade into the sphere. The sphere burst in an explosion of pixels and data. Shawn could not look at what happened. Everyone was stunned. Franz Hopper was dead.

XANA went to Shawn for a last time. "I could dump you into the Digital Sea and be done with you, but then, it wouldn't be much of a challenge when I get around to killing you little Lyoko warriors." With that, he plunged his blade into Shawn, devirtualizing him.

Back in the lab, Shawn just came out of the elevator to find everyone wearing sad faces. Jeremy sat silently in his seat while Aelita was sobbing in her hands. Shawn pressed his head against a wall.

"It's my entire fault," he muttered. "I wasn't strong enough to defeat XANA this time. I'm so weak and there's nothing I can do about it."

"That's not true Shawn," Jeremy proclaimed. "You did your best, all of you did. At least we have the data plan Franz gave us. I looked over it; if we install it directly into XANA inside Tyron's supercomputer, then we'll be able to create a virus strong enough to destroy him for good this time."

"Does it matter? My father's dead," Aelita whimpered. "I trusted you Shawn. Why couldn't you protect my father? He's dead now!" Aelita got up and started beating up Shawn, punching him in the face multiple times. Shawn did nothing to stop her either. Yumi grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop. Aelita burrowed her head in her friend. Shawn rubbed his face, which was bruised a little.

"Look, let's just go back to Kadic. I'll look over the Franz's program some more; you guys just try to get some rest later tonight."

Everyone agreed and started the trek back to the academy. Shawn kept to himself and Aelita wouldn't even talk to him. When they returned, they were caught by Jim. Odd came up with an excuse for their absence, but he didn't buy it. They all got hit with nightly detention with Jim that day. At nine o' clock, when detention was over, they all went home for the night.

While everyone went to bed, Shawn decided to sit on a bench in Kadic's square. He stared up at the crescent moon, admiring its beautiful glow. There he sat, talking to the moon.

"I was so weak. I couldn't do anything but watch." Shawn leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Now, Aelita hates me. I don't blame her; I let her father die while I did nothing to save him. At least you're still here to keep me company when I'm down."

"Um, Shawn? Who're you talking to?" said a voice. Shawn looked behind to see Odd standing there staring at him.

"I wasn't talking to anyone."

"Yeah, nice try. I heard you plain as day. Sulking about what happened today. Tell me, who were you talking to?"

"Well, I was talking to my mother."

Odd continued to stare at him. "Isn't your mother dead though?"

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, well, it started just before she died. I was young; I couldn't bear the thought of growing up without my mother. I remember sitting by her death bed, and she told me that she will always be watching over me; making sure I was never alone. She told me that she will become the moon and watch me every night. I suppose you think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Nope, not at all. We all have our own forms of coping. Aelita always holds her Mr. Puck doll every night she's down. Trust me, if you're upset about Lyoko today, then it's best if you get over it." Odd shuffled over to the vending machines and grabbed a soda. "Believe me, you're at your weakest when you've got a dark cloud over your head. You should've seen Ulrich at times before you showed up. He'd always go off to sulk when we needed him on Lyoko."

"Suppose you're right. What should I do about Aelita?"

Odd hummed to himself. "My advice, wait for an opportunity to save her skin, then she'll be back in your arms. That's the best I've got. I'm not the best at fixing relationships really."

"Well, thanks." Shawn got up and headed for his room. There he changed and crawled into bed, falling into a deep slumber. He'll figure something out sooner or later.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember to leave a review, it really helps. And check out my other fanfictions and I'll see you next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A new chapter. What will happen now with the death of Franz Hopper? Let's find out.**

Shawn stirred in his sleep. He was having a dream about his mother. Suddenly, he woke up, gasping for air as his head beamed with sweat. He dreamed his mother was attacking him with a sword while he did nothing. Only when he gathered his bearings that he realized he wasn't in Kadic anymore. Instead, he was in a large bedroom lit only by a candle and the light from two windows.

"Where am I?" he said to himself. "Is this some kind of dream? No, I was just dreaming, so that can't be." Shawn gave himself a good, hard pinch in the arm. It did not hurt one bit. "Okay, I'm dreaming, now what do I do? I can't seem to wake up for some reason." Shawn tried opening the door, but it was locked tight. Peeking out the window, he only saw a white, empty void. None of this was making any sense now.

"Maybe I'm on Lyoko right now. Jeremy, are you there?" No response. "Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, William, Aelita, are you guys there?" Still no response. "What the hell is going on?"

Shawn decided the best choice was to escape this room. Taking hold of the candle, he began searching the room, turning it upside down. All he found was a flat piece of metal modeled like a flat head screwdriver, a long, flat metal stick, and a small hammer. He debated smashing a window open, but something in his head said it wasn't a good idea. He gave the room one last search, but had no results. Looking at the pieces of metal gave him an idea. He approached the door and slid the pieces in, twisting around trying to pick the lock. "I've never done this before in real life, but there's a first time for everything."

Shawn continued twisting the metal piece around in the lock. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he pushed the pick in only to be met with resistance. "Gotta find that sweet spot," he muttered. Finally, he got it. He let slide a grin and lightly fist bumped the air. Shawn threw the door open and was met with a bright light, blinding his vision completely.

* * *

Morning reached the outskirts of Kadic Academy. Jeremy squinted his eyes from the sun as he sat up in bed. As he regained control of his vision, he noticed that Shawn was not in his bed; a note attached to his laptop sat there instead. Jeremy grabbed the note and this is what was written:

_Jeremy, I wasn't feeling well last night, so I went to the infirmary. I'm fine, so don't worry about me. I'll be back around lunchtime. Tell Odd he can have my breakfast, that scrawny kid. I'll see you guys later._

Jeremy thought it was a little strange as Shawn looked perfectly fine yesterday, but he thought Shawn must've been hiding something before. Jeremy got ready for the day and went to the cafeteria where the others were.

"Hey guys, what's new?" Jeremy asked.

"Not much Einstein," replied Odd. "Ulrich here is still waiting for his sweetheart to call him though." He laughed as Ulrich socked him in the arm. Yumi had to leave for Japan a couple days ago to attend her grandmother's funeral and Ulrich's been checking his phone for a call or text every chance.

"Have you found anything from my father's program?" asked Aelita.

"Nothing yet; I haven't discovered how to properly work it yet. But I'm working on it." Jeremy mimicked typing keyboard keys as he said that.

"Hey, where's Shawn?" piped Ulrich.

"He's in the infirmary; he went there last night, said he wasn't feeling well. I thought we could check up on him before lunch." The others agreed so, and then they went to class.

* * *

Back to Shawn, wherever he was. When the blinding light died down, Shawn could not believe his eyes; he found himself in the center of a town. Not just any town, but one modeled after the medieval ages. People passed by without a glance at the appearance of Shawn. Shawn looked at himself to find he was dressed in his Lyoko attire, save for his pistols which were gone and a couple pouches full of gold coins strapped in place.

"What the hell's going on here? Where am I?" Shawn said aloud.

Well, someone heard him. "Why, you're in the city of Altimera. Lead by our king Xanadu Fasrim," said a stout man. "You seem like a great warrior. You should sign up for the tournament later today. Many warriors will fight for a chance to defeat the champion and receive the king's blessing." With that, he disappeared into the crowd.

Shawn pondered what he learned just now. He still did not understand where he was exactly, nor did he notice he was in front of a well, with the house he came from nowhere in sight. Then, it hit him. "Wait, King Xanadu Fasrim? As in XANA?" he thought. "So I am in Lyoko. This means if I get devirtualized, then I'll be out of here." Shawn drew his sword and aimed it to his heart.

"Stop Shawn Davidson. I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a voice. Shawn stopped and turned around. A figure clothed in a black robe approached him. "Devirtualizing yourself will only kill you. XANA has deactivated the materialization process meaning if you are devirtualized, then you will disappear into the void of Lyoko forever."

To Shawn, the mysterious figure's sage words hit him, even though he shouldn't trust him. "Thank you," Shawn said. "But who are you?"

"My master brought you here into this simulation to test you; to see more of your abilities. Go to the tournament, and if you win, you will be set free."

"That's it?! What kind of game is XANA playing at?! Why is he doing this to me?!"

"I will tell you this; my master has a new weapon to fight you and your friends. He just thought it'd be best to test it like this, to get more amusement out of it." With that, the figure turned and disappeared into the crowd. Shawn cursed to himself; why does XANA keep playing these games? Is it some kind of psychological warfare? He did not have time to question; he had a tournament to sign up for.

* * *

Back on Earth, it was just about lunch time. The gang was in the cafeteria except for Jeremy, who was on his way to the infirmary to see Shawn. Imagine his surprise when he finds out from Yolanda that Shawn has never been in within the past week. Jeremy rushed to the cafeteria to inform the others. He crashed through the doors surprising everyone inside.

"Guys, I was just at the infirmary, Shawn isn't there and hasn't been in over a week. Something's happened!" he practically screamed.

"Chill Einstein," slipped William. "I'm sure he left that note so he could get a break. He's had a rough time lately y'know?" He shot a quick glance to Aelita, who shot a stern look back.

"You think XANA might have something to do with him?" Ulrich asked.

"I don't know. I ran a scan and detected nothing. Plus, our only lead is the note from this morning." Jeremy tossed the note on the table. Odd took a look at it. One thing about it was very clear to him, granting investigation.

"Wait, this ain't Shawn's handwriting. He always writes his r's in capitals, a habit he picked up from his old science teacher in third grade who did the same. I know from working on that experiment with him in chemistry last week. Plus, look at this." Odd pulled out his phone and started the camera. Everyone huddled around him as he looked at the note with the zoom feature. "I can see what looks like binary lines within the paper. Wait-wait, what's this?" He zoomed in the right corner of the note. The eye of XANA was etched into the paper.

"Shawn's definitely on Lyoko! We need to get there now before something bad happens," urged Ulrich.

The others agreed, and made a mad dash for the factory. Jeremy hopped into his chair while the rest went down to the scanners. "Okay, we don't know where Shawn is exactly, so I'm sending you guys to each sector separately. Search every bit of virtual dust until you find him or anything strange." Jeremy said over the intercom.

The gang was virtualized; Ulrich in the forest, Aelita in the ice, William in the desert, and Odd in the mountains. They mounted their vehicles and zoomed off in search of their friend.

* * *

Back in Altimera, Shawn was in the barracks where he can sign up for the tournament. He signed his name on the roster then took a seat to wait. Shawn kept thinking to himself how crazy everything was. He wished he could get some answers to his questions; why XANA is doing this, what his secret weapon is, or why he created this place.

"Why choose a medieval setting XANA?" Shawn thought. "Why not just dump me in an arena with your weapon plain and simple? You got some kind of fetish with fantasy settings? I don't understand you."

Shawn watched as warriors of different origin entered the barracks and signed the roster. Shawn was feeling nervous, knowing he has to fight this people if he wants to escape. He kept reassuring himself that they are not real, but that did nothing to lessen the challenge he'll have.

As the virtual hours trickled by, the time for the start of the tournament came. Shawn and the other warriors moved to the arena and stood side by side as the crowds filled the seats. After a while, a man dressed in regal robes appeared in the top box; the seating for the king. Shawn looked onto XANA with rage; he was tired of this game already, and it hasn't even started yet.

"People of Altimera," called XANA. "As your king, it is my humble right to announce the beginning of our tournament." The crowd burst into applause. "Yes, this year these brave warriors from distant lands come together to combat one another for glory and riches. This year, whoever wins will have a chance to face off against our kingdom's greatest and strongest warrior. Here he is now."

At his command, trumpets sounded, and a large wooden door opened. A figure wearing a black robe entered the arena to the sound of applause. Something told Shawn the figure was the same one who talked to him in the square. The champion passed by each of the warriors, nodding his head or wishing them luck. As he passed by the last, Shawn, he raised his head, revealing only a smile. Shawn felt like he knew this man already.

The champion faced XANA and bowed. XANA raised his hand and the champion rose to his feet. "Dyfar," XANA said. "There's no need for any mystery now; reveal yourself to everyone so they know who you are." As XANA said those words, Shawn felt a chill like they were aimed to strike fear in him.

Dyfar nodded and threw off the robe. The warriors stood motionless except for Shawn, whose mouth fell agape. His knees buckled under the shock as he watched the champion stood and face the warriors. Shawn recognized everything the champion wore. The straight, silver katana strapped to his back, the gold belt buckle with XANA's eye, the blood red eyes, and the tattoo patterns running down his right arm, one of the eye of XANA woven with intriguing designs. The champion Dyfar smirked at the frightened Shawn. Shawn could not believe it with his own eyes; the champion is Shawn's polar opposite.

**Big cliffhanger here, things are gonna heat up. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review, it really helps a lot, check out my other fanfictions and I'll see you next time. Also, sorry about the screw up I made updating this chapter.**


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